Nude at Crossroads

There are things we build with hope. Hope they say is what keeps us doing what we do and without it, we are as good as dead. Hope brings forth optimism, a willingness to move forward - despite every reason one has not to do so. Hope, is a thought. 

To lean on Greek mythology and look at the lore about the emergence of hope, it starts when Pandora, the first woman sent by the Gods as a form of punishment to man (interesting isn't it(?)), could not withstand her temptation and opened the Box of Troubles with which she was sent, that which she was cautioned not to open (interesting again, isn't it(?)) This mistake arising from her impulsive curiosity was realized only after the damage was done and all the troubles were out (interestingly typical once again(!)) Well, almost... 

Pandora however was quick to cover up and managed to shut the box before the final 'trouble' escaped. The one that remained. The only one that managed to remain. Though intact, nevertheless, a trouble. This in fact is the reason for all the trouble, that makes man take and endure the rest of the troubles. Perhaps, the worst form of trouble. 

Guess what that mischievous trouble could be... well, indeed, it is 'Hope'. The one that makes us feel that everything will be alright, that everything erred can be forgiven, forgotten; the lost can be rebuilt, the sickness would heal, the dead would rise, a few still alive would die, the clock will slow down for us to catch up, the lost will be found and the found could be lost; every puzzle can be solved and every problem resolved; the crooked crook can be caught by her horns and thrown into a burning bush of thorns; hope, is what makes us walk through burning coals of torture, climb the pricky ladder of indifference, cross the burning bridges of chances, break the glass ceiling and endure the pain to finally meet the blind lady of justice and win the battle against lies, betrayal and double standards and war against the hypocrites - everything with nothing but an invisible armour of 'hope'. But then, that is what hope does... makes one feel unconquerable while exposing what a vulnerable, empty, depending fool he is and pushes him soon into the embarrassing dark dungeons of regret and shame.    

Every man must fall, every river must rise, every stone will turn to sand and every grain of sand to stone, every tower will fall and the earth will still move even if we don't wake up at night. There is nothing to hope for and trouble ourselves. Every other trouble erupts from outside - except hope. Why bother ourselves with hope(?) Losing hope is the best way of not being distracted, attracted and becoming stubborn with our pursuit. When standing naked and with nothing to hold on to at the crossroads of life, look back and be overwhelmed, stay stranded in oblivion - brooding over things you cannot change or see the three turns ahead and move ahead without hope, without expectation - that is perhaps the realization they call 'nirvana'.